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Chaos and violence in Rio de Janeiro

Since June last year I try to show here the hypocrisy, corruption, cases of negligence of politicians and governments and police violence against the Brazilian people on the eve of the World Cup and just over two years of the Olympics. I may be being boring to many readers because this was a blog of culture and art. I may be being less impartial than I should be, but it’s hard to maintain impartiality in the face of atrocities ordered by heads of corrupt governments and enforced by law agents against citizens fighting for their rights.

Meanwhile, in the country of the World Cup…

Vacating of terrain invaded by about 5,000 people end up in confrontation, police violence and destruction.

Chaos reigns in Rio de Janeiro. While hypocritical politicians invest billions on useless works to impress foreign tourists who come to the city to watch the games of the World Cup, the poorest population continues to suffer the ills of a fascist politics led by two criminals wearing white collar but should be using uniforms of prisoners behind bars: the governor of Rio de Janeiro Sergio Cabral and his lackey and court jester Mayor of Rio de Janeiro Eduardo Paes. As if not enough the pharaonic works that are transforming the lives of the Rio de Janeiro population in a constant purgatory, the neglect of these two rulers with health, education, public safety, housing and transportation has led to protests and cries of revolt of the poor population. Screams that are silent only at the expense of truncheon, tear gas and rubber bullets.

One more time, the Military Police of Rio de Janeiro showed his psychotic and repressive face when 1,500 police officers acted like thugs of old colonels of the times of the empire and invaded an occupied terrain by about 5,000 people in Engenho Novo, suburb of Rio de Janeiro, and used the usual violence with guise of fulfilling a court order. Just like a Quilombo, the eviction was closed from truculent manner when dozens of families set up resistance and refused to leave the premises. Tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets were used by the Riot Police. Outraged, residents that invaded the terrain caused a trawler shall through the streets of neighborhoods. Criminals took advantage of the turmoil to cause destruction and spread fear in the neighborhood.

The balance after five hours of confrontation: one of the buildings of the company that was being used by the invaders was torched, four buses, several private cars, a truck and one police car were set ablaze, two supermarkets, several shops and banks were vandalized and looted. 27 people were arrested and 16 were injured, including nine police officers and two children, one of them wounded in the leg by a rubber bullet. The most serious case was a man who lost his sight in one eye. Seven schools closed their doors, leaving three thousand students without class, and a health post did not work.

Understand how the occupation began

On March 31, hundreds of families invaded an area owned by the telephony company Oi on Two May Street at Engenho Novo, neighborhood a few miles from the Maracana stadium (see the map below). The land was served as the company’s storehouse, but has been abandoned for several years. Quickly, shacks about 4 square meters were built on the terrain, and the population grew rapidly, reaching about 5,000 people.

The vast movement of people and construction materials drew the attention of neighbors and the authorities tried to use legal means – the repossession company for Oi company – to prevent another favela was formed in Rio de Janeiro.

Quickly, justice granted the repossession on 7 April. The Mayor of Rio de Janeiro Eduardo Paes came out to shoot one of his usual stupidities: “poor who are poor and need home, do not staking out land with woods and construction material,” and called the occupation of “professional” and “organized”, alluding that it had been initiated by social movements or criminals, which in the view of imbeciles like him mean the same thing. In this Friday, April 11, reinforced with 1,500 police officers, the process of repossession was carried to term.

Boy victim of gas thrown by MPs is loaded by the slum dwellers of Wet Mouse Favela.

Resident is caught throwing stones at riot police.

Police helicopter flies over the terrain of the Oi during the fire of one of the buildings.

This moron got to be twice elected mayor of Rio de Janeiro. Who is more moronic? This jerk who was elected or the fools who voted for him for two terms in a row?

Neglect of housing

The impasse involving the terrain of Oi company dates back to 2012, when the building was sold to the city. A term of purchase and sale between Telemar Norte Leste (Oi current company) and the City of Rio de Janeiro came to be signed on July 6 of that year. The goal of the administration was to create a project similar to Carioca neighborhood, created in the neighborhood of Triagem.

The signing of the term had the presence of President Dilma Rousssef. The deal closed, it was determined that the federal government, through the Ministry of Cities, would finance a housing program in the place through the public housing MCMV plan. But the deal fell apart. Even with the signing of the term, the sale failed. Mayor Eduardo Paes claimed that the asking price was too high.

Families evicted by the Military Police of the company Oi terrain protest outside the headquarters of the municipal government and request access of home ownership.

Police for who need police: Police violence against journalists

It is not new that military police of Rio de Janeiro behave like irrational thugs when they are acting in operations of attempted of crowd control. Many of the victims during such disastrous operations are press professionals. The growth of alternative sources of media covering the demonstrations and the almost always violent actions of the police since the protests began in Brazil in June last year, stands side by side with the increase of records of police aggression against journalists. Each person with a cell phone in hand during these police operations becomes an police enemy and to prevent their violent, arbitrary and cowardly actions against innocents of being filmed and photographed, the police officers are instructed by their commanders to arrest and attacking journalists and break/confiscate their equipment.

Police threaten journalists and try to prevent the press professionals of register the violent police action during the eviction.

The newspaper reporter Bruno Amorim from O GLOBO was arrested by military police while photographing operation of the eviction of slum Oi, in Engenho Novo. A police officer snatched the glasses from Bruno gave him a headlock and accused him of inciting violence. After being immobilized, he was filmed by the same policeman, saying: “I am Filming a Globo reporter who was throwing stones. You show our face, now I’m showing yours”. The officer was unidentified in uniform. The reporter was taken to the 25th Police Precinct (Rocha), and then released. The case has not been registered by the police. Upon being arrested, the same charges used by the police to repress work of the press: Bruno was charged with disrespect, incitement to violence and resisting arrest.

Since the beginning of the action on the morning of Friday, the police threatened to arrest reporters and cameramen who made the cover of repossession. In a statement, Abert (Brazilian Association of Radio and Television) condemned the police action against the journalist. More proof that Brazil is a disguised dictatorship, where the police have as much power over the truth, and the life of every citizen, and the assurance given by the fascist state that crimes committed by police officers are not judged, and even if they are, hardly any policeman will be punished.